I occasionally hear people talk about having a separate gear tent to minimize dust in their sleeping area. Can someone explain to me the point of having a structure to store gear rather than just some plastic boxes exposed to the elements? It's not like I'm worried about someone seeing me changing. Is it so you can sort through your stuff while being shielded from the wind or a dust storm?

A second tent is not for everyone. Some folks might want it because they want their sleeping area uncrowded, or because they want an added layer of protection for their stuff from rain, or a (minor) dust buffer, or to keep a toolbox out of sight (unguarded tools may have a tendency to walk off) and/or minimize the number of times they open a rental car (helps keep some of the dust out). And so on. You don't have to.

*** 2017 Survival Guide ***"I must've lost it when I was twerking at the trash fence." -- BBadger

Savannah!Your chronic lieing will lose you your place as a moderator! To clarify, everybody must have a second tent. Except people in RVs who must have gear RVs (no running the generators), and people in box trucks, who much have a gear box truck. Why, there's even a gear First Camp where the animatronic LLC members hang out.

The Lady with a Lamprey

"The powerful are exploiting people, art and ideas, and this leads to us plebes debating how to best ration ice.Man, no wonder they always win....." Lonesomebri

One major reason for keeping things in a second tent, quite honestly, is security. Sure, the tent is easy to open but it takes time, grabbing an exposed box and walking off with it is easy.

While crime is way lower in BRC than in a "regular" city of equal size, it does still exist & theft is mainly the "convenience" kind - someone walks by an empty camp & sees a great pair of goggles and the wind is blowing, or a cool coat and it's cold out, they're a little "otherly centered"... and you end up missing an item or 3. There are also some out & out thieves out there - last year I watched a couple slowly move in on Friday night to scope out a quiet camp I was next to, and they jumped a mile when I stepped out of the shadows & started quizing them about what they were doing in an area that clearly wasn't the interactive part of the camp.

Not saying you will get ripped off, but a cheap tent just takes away the convenience...

It's a camping trip in the desert, not the redemption of the fallen world - Cryptofishist

Savannah wrote:A second tent is not for everyone. Some folks might want it because they want their sleeping area uncrowded, or because they want an added layer of protection for their stuff from rain, or a (minor) dust buffer, or to keep a toolbox out of sight (unguarded tools may have a tendency to walk off) and/or minimize the number of times they open a rental car (helps keep some of the dust out). And so on. You don't have to.

Ah okay, sounds like most of the function can be achieved with a tarp. Thanks Savannah and Eric!

My first year, I got a really nice $300 all season 2 person tent which was real easy to setup and took pretty much any kind of wind. I only had a shade structure made of tarp over my car (the pop-up I bought shredded in the first 2 hours after setting up). I had to pretty much put all my clothes and personal stuff in the tent which takes up quite a bit of space and became a little uncomfortable. Last year, I built a monkey hut and got a second tent from walmart for $18 and put all my stuff in there. What a difference it makes to have a a comfy tent with nothing else in it except for your bed, pillow, blankets, etc. It also helped with keeping things more organize and less dusty. I'd say go for it but get a dirt cheap one.